Mary Woolaston

Mary Woolaston , a black woman, who in the late 17th century is believed to have been the keeper of a healing well, renowned for its chalybeate waters, these are natural spring waters that contain a high concentration of iron salts, which gives them a distinctive taste. Woolaston lived in a rough, circular stone hut near the well. The spot which became known as ‘Black Mary’s hole’ is in the Calthorpe Community Gardens, where this statue entitled Black Mary now stands. Black Mary was made by Marcia Bennett-Male, who is the only classically trained black woman stone carver in the UK. The statue was commissioned in 2020 and joins the meagre, but slowly growing number of statues of black women in the UK. It formed part of the The Black Mary Project financed by the Mayor of London’s Untold Story fund as part of his Diversity in the Public Realm programme, and also by Arts Council England, Camden Council, and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.

Location: Calthorpe Community Gardens, Gray's Inn Road, London, WC1